I’ve never really been a Disney person. My parents weren’t into it, either, so a lot of the studio’s animated (and live action) classics were absent from my childhood.

The squeaky-clean image didn’t mesh with mom and dad’s counterculture sensibilities, and my brother and I never expressed any desire to get a hold of the material. (I think Winnie The Pooh was the only exception.)

We loved The Muppets because they were edgy and we loved “Star Wars” because the material was a bit more grown-up (the fact that the House of Mouse now owns both of these is a bit of trivia that is not lost on me), but my familiarity with movies that are household names for most was definitely affected.

Just as the Broadway musical “Wicked” gave us the “Wizard of Oz” story from the perspective of the Wicked Witch, Disney’s “Maleficent” takes the villain from their 1959 classic, “Sleeping Beauty”, and puts her front and center for an unusual re-telling of the familiar fable.

When Maleficent shows up in the original animated film, she’s there just to put a curse on Princess Aurora that will cause her to fall into a death-like sleep on her 16th birthday, and the spell can only be awakened by a kiss from her true love. But that’s only a tiny part of what happened.

“Maleficent” begins when the title character is born, and follows her through her life in the fairy world that lies outside the human kingdom. As time goes on, fear and jealousy over the fairies’ magical powers lead to bitter animosity, and the adult Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) is horribly wronged.

What follows is a surprisingly complex, but refreshingly progressive meditation on revenge, a plot device most often used to reinforce the archaic notion that violent action is the only recourse for the heroes. The king and queen effectively banish their daughter to the woods in the name of “protecting” her, when the reality is, she’s much safer under the watchful eye of the steel-faced, horned protagonist.

In a summer jam-packed with super-men battling whatever amid explosions and gunfire, “Maleficent” could not arrive at a better time, and with a better lesson for all. It carries a solid message of understanding and compassion, but doesn’t hit you over the head with it. The world isn’t just allies and enemies, nothing is black-and-white, and you cannot heal hurt with more hurt.

With her awesome Darkness horns and glorious bat wings, “Maleficent” joins the ranks of R.P. McMurphy and Godzilla as one of the big screen’s best and most memorable anti-heroes, and it was a true pleasure finally getting to know who she really is.

OnlineAthens.com aims to foster constructive, respectful civic conversation. With your help, we will provide a friendly, safe, easy to use place on the Web for everyone in the area to share not only opinions but also information of community interest. Racist, harassing, abusive and libelous comments will not be tolerated.